It's time our politicians answered these hard questions in public
TO THE outsider, the US elections present an absurd spectacle. How can a billionaire businessman who calls Mexicans rapists, routinely insults women, stereotypes black Americans, admires the Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, threatens to bar Muslims from entering the country and to kill the families of terrorists, become a presidential candidate? Surely decent, responsible, fair-minded people would not give such a national and international menace a chance to become the leader of the free world?The rise of Donald Trump is, of course, a more complex affair than these questions allow. The outstanding book by JD Vance, Hillbilly Elegy, gives insight from his own life in a poor, rural family as to how resentful, white working-class communities, long ignored by establishment politics, became cannon fodder for crude, popular politicians who named the villains (blacks, Latinos, Muslims, foreigners) and promised the victims instant salvation if they voted for them — jobs, security, Christian...
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Subscribe now to unlock this article.
Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).
There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.
Cancel anytime.
Questions? Email helpdesk@businesslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00. Got a subscription voucher? Redeem it now.